Warning: Fighting and slight graphic descriptions - nothing too bad though, I don't think!
I woke with a jolt, and it took me a few minutes to register where I was and what had happened.
Alex looked over at me, and I expected him to look amused, but he didn't. He looked blank, empty.
"You okay?" he asked. I nodded, readjusting myself on the seat.
"Should we start looking for a place to stay?" I asked dryly after a short silence.
"Yeah. But I don't think we should stick so close to the highway. Find somewhere a bit off the beaten track." He said dully and I nodded again.
We slipped into silence then, only Helena's quiet murmuring to her bear in the backseat.
"How far away is your friend?" I asked. This silence was unbearable.
"I have no idea. But I don't think we'll get there in a few hours driving. He was in Atlanta for a weekend - said it was too timely to do the travel all in one day." He said, finishing with a sigh.
Even though he was saying a lot, Alex wasn't very 'talkative'. I know it was hard for him to leave the group too, but I've never seen him this lifeless.
After a few hours we swapped places and I drove. I eventually got used to driving the truck and we cruised down the highway. He slipped into a seemingly restless sleep and my mind wandered.
Maybe we should've gone with the group to the CDC. Stuck together and waited to see what happens. But no, maybe what we did was right. I have more of an alligence to Helena and Alex than I did to the rest of the campers. No matter how much I care about them, or how much they care about me.
The day had been sweltering, and I could feel the beads of sweat dribbling down my back. The windows had been rolled right down letting the breeze whip around my hair and cool me off and Alex and Helena had fallen asleep. If it were any other day under different circumstances it would have been a pleasant day. But I was always conscious of what we were going through. Always.
As I drove along, I found a turning that seemed to lead to a dirt road. I pulled up next to it, and shook Alex awake.
"Huh?" he groaned, his voice full of sleep.
"Do you reckon we should take a look?" I asked, motioning with my head towards the road.
He looked round and rubbed his eyes. He studied the road for a minute before turning to me and shrugging.
"Thanks for the help." I mused sarcastically, and he gave me a forced lopsided grin. I rolled my eyes, but then turned the truck to drive down the road.
I parked the truck where I imagined was halfway down the road, and made to get out.
"What are you doing?" Alex yelped, his hand gripping my arm.
"I'm going to see if the place is safe. The day's ticking on, and we're not driving in there all guns blazing." I said, and he searched my face before sighing and releasing my hand.
"I'll come right back." I said as I slipped out of the truck and jogged down the path.
I stopped near the path when a small building came into view. I moved closer to the trees for cover and I gasped.
This place was definitely not safe.
There were walkers everywhere. The place was overrun. It was what looked like an old farmhouse that was swarmed with walkers. There were more coming from a small gap in the trees on the far side of the house. There were dozens and dozens of them swarming the area, all heading towards the were scraping and moaning against all the walls and the windows, completely covering the area.
Not wanting to hang around for another second, I stepped back and span on my heels. I sprinted towards the truck without ever looking back. I got in and turned on the engine, not bothering to put on my belt. I threw the car in reverse and backed out the entire way to the highway. I then put the car back into gear and tore away down the road, my heart racing.
"What happened?" Alex asked after a few minutes of driving. I kept my eyes fixed on the road, my breathing reaching a normal rate.
"A farmhouse. It was totally swarmed. I don't know what they were after. Maybe there were people.." I trailed, my eyes welling slightly.
"You can't know that Sambo. Don't think about it." He sighed, and I snapped my gaze to him, almsot disgusted. Forget about it?
"As long as your safe, it's all okay. Let's just concentrate on finding my friend or somewhere safe to pull up for the night." He said, and I nodded nonchalantly. He leaned over and kissed my cheek. I looked at him when he sat back, merely nodding again.
"What is your friend called, anyway?" I asked.
"Adam." He said after a short time.
After a few more hours of driving, we saw another dirt road. After slight deliberation, we turned down it. The sky was purple from the setting sun, so I was desperately hoping that this would be a decent place for us to stay the night. I didn't want to see anything that would drive me crazy. I parked the car a little way up and grabbed my machete from the backseat.
"I'll come with-"
"No. Stay here and look after Helena. If it's too overrun, I'll run back and we'll go again. If there's only a few about, I'll take care of them and we'll settle down for the night." I said, placing my hand over his. I gulped hard.
He nodded and Helena stirred in the back a little. I unbuckled my belt and slid out of the door. I stuck close the the treeline as I ran silently down the path. As I reached a fork in the path, I looked up at the area.
At first glance, it seemed relatively okay. There didn't seem to be any walkers about, and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. I climbed the gate that blocked the path up to the house and I ran as stealthily as I could towards the rural building.
I reached the porch and saw that the door was open which stopped me in my tracks. I looked around behind me and saw nothing. Taking a deep breath, I climbed the rest of the stair and moved along to decking towards the window. I slapped my hand over my mouth to stop me crying out.
Inside the living room, lay five bodies. Or, what was left of them. Remains of people and clothes were scattered across the room, bits even attached to the walls. In the middle of the bodies lay a bible, it's pages stained red. I sighed deeply, running a shaky hand through my hair.
Then there was a movement. I jumped out of my skin, and my eyes focused. There crouched a walker over the largest of the bodies. I shut my eyes tight and took a deep breath.
I felt like I was going to cry. These poor people. Well. What was left of these people.
I shifted on my feet for a second deliberating what to do before I walked round and entered the house. I crept up behind the walker and before it could turn to face me, I shoved the machete through its skull. It slumped over the body it had just been gnawing on, motionless.
I sighed, ignoring the shotgun that was in the hand of one of the bodies. Why does it always have to be this way? Survive or die. The harshest of realities.
I walked through the rest of the house and saw it was clear.
In all honesty, I didn't want to stay in this house. Not while the deceased were just downstairs. I walked back through the house lowering my machete, and stood on the porch. I looked across the land when I spotted a building down another path.
I jogged over to it, climbing back over the fence and carrying on down the path and saw that it was a barn. I saw that it was bolted, and I meekly pushed it back and tentatively opened the door. It was your regular barn with all the trimmings, and it was totally walker free. There was a second floor access with a ladder, and there weren't any missing roof pannels anywhere, meaning the night could be quite pleasant.
I smiled slightly, and turned back to the path and ran back to where the truck was. I ran faster when I saw them, and I swung open the door and jumped in.
"Well?"
"The house is looking a little grim, but.. uh, the barns safe enough. There's a second floor and we could pad it out with duvets and sleeping bags and stuff." I smiled, feeling slightly optimistic. I threw my machete in the backseat and sat round.
I started the engine and drove the car right into the land and stopped it just outside the barn. I switched it off and jumped out, and walked to the backseat and got Helena up. I picked her up in my arms and walked up to the ladder and began climbing - albeit with awkward difficulty. I sat her down on a small hay bale, and climbed back down the ladder.
"So, tell me again why we're in the barn and not the house?" Alex asked, eyebrow raised as I climbed down the rest of the ladder. I looked at him, and then down to the floor.
"There was a family in there. Five of them. And a walker.." I choked.
"Oh.. Do you want me to go and get the duvets and stuff?" He asked, and I looked up at him.
"No. I feel like I'm being insensitive though. I hate myself." I confessed. Taking things from their own home while they're laying dead downstairs? It made bile rise in my throat at the thought.
"If they were good people, they'd help us out, wouldn't they? They're helping us our now. Besides, it's a new world, Sambo. You need to stop thinking with that big heart of yours all the time." He cooed, and I sighed, ingesting his words.
"Okay. I'll go." I sighed.
I walked past him and up towards the house. I didn't look into the living room as I walked past and up the stairs, heading to one of the bedrooms I checked. I grabbed the duvet with the floral covers off the bed and bunched it up in my arms. I grabbed another from a room that had obviously once belonged to a little girl and went to leave. I saw on my way out of the house a laundry basket, and I paused. Maybe these people had some clothes we could take. And some more provisions.
I looked up at the sky as I walked out and saw that the sun had nearly disappeared, long shadows appearing everywhere. I'll come back before we leave and have a look when there's light.
I reached the gate and jumped, landing with a grunt.
That was then when I heard it. Those unmistakable moans. I whirled round to see two walkers running straight at me. I gasped and dropped the duvet, feeling my side for the machete.
"Shit!" I groaned. I'd left it in the back of the truck. I looked back up from my pockets and straight ahead of me to see the walker right in my face.
I shoved my palms out, hitting the walker square in the chest and pushed, my wrist starting to throb again. It stumbled back a bit but it remained standing and gurgling. The other then ran at me. I span side on and brought my hands to fists at my waist and leant to the side, kicking my leg up high, hitting the walker in the face. I felt the bones in its face crunch at the contact, but I didn't stop. I span back to face it, swinging my arm across it's chest and kicking it in the stomach.
I turned to the other walker and ran at it jumping at it and flaring my leg out, hitting it just below its throat. It flew back to the floor. I felt the tips of the other walkers hand on my shoulder blade, and I span round, my fist high and snacked the walker across its already disjointed face, taking care to avoid its mouth. I landed another punch in its face, and it flew back to the floor. I ran up to it and without delay, began stamping on it's head until it crumpled. I didn't stop until it ceased moving.
I looked up and darted to the other walker who was nearly standing and swung the side of my hand down on its back. It slumped to the floor and tried to roll over. I began stamping my foot down again, until that too stopped moving.
I took a deep breath and stilled. I then turned round, the blood thumping loudly in my ears and shrieked.
Standing right in my face was a walker. It slumped on me and I threw it, watching it fall to the floor. It was then when I noticed there was a wooden handle sticking out of the back of its head.
My gaze snapped up to see Alex panting. I ran to him and threw my hands round his neck, kissing his cheek all over.
"Alex!" I gasped, my heart hammering hard in my chest.
"Sam," he grunted, hugging me back quickly before letting me go. "You okay?"
"Yes! Yes, I'm fine. You seriously just saved my skin. Thank you."
"That may be, but did you see yourself? You were like, totally spinning and kicking like a pro!" He squealed, and I couldn't help but laugh, although it was rather shrieky and panicked.
I grabbed the duvet and began walking with Alex back to the barn, rolling my wrist.
"I felt so inhumane. I just kept stamping on its head. I didn't know what to do. I could feel its bones breaking under my foot, Alex." I said, the adrenaline in me disappearing.
"They weren't human, Sam. You need to stop getting your emotions in the way of everything. You did what you had to do." He said, throwing an arm around my shoulders.
We reached the barn, but I stopped in the doorway. I gave the duvets to Alex and walked back, opening the truck and grabbing my machete out of it.
I slammed the door shut and walked back into the barn, my eyebrows pulled tightly together. I pulled the door shut and bolted it from the inside, and rammed a broom across both doors.
I ran a lazy hand through my hair and climbed the ladder. At the top, I pulled the ladder up and laid it alongside the edge. I walked over to where the other two were to see the sleeping bags fully unzipped and spread together across the floor.
I knelt down on the sleeping bag in between Alex and Helena. Helena had snuggled herself up in The single duvet, leaving me and Alex to share the double. He flicked back the duvet and rubbed the space next to him with a creepy look on his face. I smiled weakly and lay next to him, pulling the duvet over myself.
"Are you alright?" I asked Alex, facing him. He propped his head up on his hand and looked at me.
"Yeah. Just missing the others more than I thought I would." He confessed, and offered me a sad smile.
"I know you do. So do I. Even Shane. And Daryl." I sighed.
"Yeah. Those crazy bastards really made the days worthwhile." He snorted and I chuckled.
"Those two made me realise how short my temper really is. I just hope they're all okay..." I trailed.
"They're a good group." He offered sagely.
"A few of them are. The others are just loose cannons ready to blow. Andrea's an emotional wreck, Shane's crazy and Dixon would put an arrow through anyone that pisses him off." I rattled, sitting up. I thought about that crossbow, and my mind briefly flashed to the kisses I planted on his cheeks. I fought back a blush and swallowed.
"Hey, you're working yourself up now. Rick's a good leader, and Dale's got a clear head on his shoulders. They'll be just fine." He cooed, putting his hand on my shoulder and pushing me down, throwing the covers back over me. I nestled back under the duvet and sighed.
"How's your shoulder?"
"Really stiff. But it doesn't hurt so much. Or I'm just used to the pain - I haven't decided yet. But the wound had started closing." he said, his eyelids hanging extremely low.
"Get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning." I said, rubbing his chin and curling myself up.
He slipped down and dragged the covers up over his shoulder and shut his eyes.
I shut my eyes and sighed, pushing all thoughts of the other group out of my mind. Dale, Glenn, Rick and Daryl...
I sighed deeply and cracked open my eyes, light streaming into the barn through the gaps in the planks.
I yawned and stretched, feeling the familiar pull in my muscles. Satisfied, I knelt up in our empty makeshift bed and saw Alex and Helena sitting on the edge of the floor, feet dangling over the side. I walked over to them and sat down next to Helena who was holding a can of beans and grinning.
"Morning Sam!" She chirped. I ruffled her hair.
Alex handed me a can and a fork, and I smiled.
"How did you sleep?" Alex asked.
"Great!" Helena said, mouth full of beans.
"Good thanks." I said as I struggled with the ring pull on the can.
We sat chatting while we ate, Helena doing most of the talking. I was relieved to see that she wasn't as affected with leaving the group like I thought she would. I let her carry on as I tried avoiding getting wrapped up in my thoughts.
"Okay, I'm going to load the truck up. We may as well take the duvets. You go start grabbing stuff from the house Sam, and I'll bring the truck round." Alex ordered, and I got up, nodding.
I grabbed the ladder and placed it back in its original position. I picked up my machete and climbed down the ladder. I jumped a foot away from the floor and landed, spinning round. Before I got to the door, I spotted a a small tool box, and sticking out of it was a hammer and a heavy duty file. It was about the size of my hand, and looked pretty sturdy. I stared down at my machete - it's probably getting blunt. I grabbed the file and shoved it in my jumper pocket and walked to the doors, unbolting the barn.
I pulled open the door and scanned the area. When I saw it was clear, I began jogging up to the house, ignoring the walkers that were on the floor.
I reached the house and entered it, remaining cautious as I walked through, doing a quick sweep to find that it was still empty. I went straight upstairs first, looking through the rooms and all the drawers.
"I hate myself, I hate myself.." I murmured, going through all these people's belongings. I felt so disrespectful, but I didn't stop. I couldn't.
After getting loads of clothes for all three of us, and grabbing extras - if we meet any more survivors, I guess - I headed downstairs. I did two trips of carrying stuff downstairs, and found some trash bags. I piled all the clothes in the bags and knotted them. Alex rolled up in the truck, and jumped out, opening the boot.
He grabbed the bags in one of his hands and walked out with them, throwing them unceremoniously in the back.
We then spend the next ten minutes rummaging for food and other supplies. We stumbled across a rifle and Alex found a handgun in one of the drawers. He then found a few half-full bottles of whiskey, which he quickly stowed in the truck.
"Ready to go Sam?" Alex asked, trying on a pair of some beaten old hiking boots he found.
"Yeah. Let's go." I smiled, picking up the bag of toiletries on the table.
I threw it in the back and covered up the trunk, securing it tightly.
"Well, that was extremely successful." Alex said as he started the engine.
"I suppose." I said, pulling the file out of my pocket and began to sharpen my machete.
We pulled out on the road and had only been driving for around 20 minutes when Alex started swearing, and the truck stopped. I groaned.
"Please, please don't tell me you've broken another vehicle!"
"No! I just, uh. No petrol." He blushed and I rolled my eyes, but I was relieved.
"Why didn't you say yesterday? We went past loads of cars when you were driving." I sighed, unbuckling my belt.
"You were driving too! It's not just my fault!" He whined and I sighed.
"Well, it doesn't matter. I suppose I've got to run along and find some, haven't I?" I said, opening the door. I grabbed my machete and opened the door next to Helena, grabbing the canister and the piece of hose next to it that we got when we left the group. I cleared my throat loudly at the thought.
"Good thing I'm getting better at running, eh?" I blurted as I shut the door and began to run.
I had only run for about fifteen minutes when I hit a bunch of about six cars. I went up to the first car and unscrewed the cap and put the hose down inside. After a few unsuccessful attempts, I managed to start getting the fuel out, and I smiled to myself. I managed to fill the canister after only going to two cars, and decided that we'd drive this way anyway and we can drain the rest of the cars.
I screwed the lid on and pulled the hose out, and was ready to turn back when I heard the shuffling footsteps. I swore to myself and looked around, but I couldn't see them. I tried the door in front of me and, thankfully, it opened. I climbed into the back seat and shut the door as silently as I could and crouched down in the foot space. I waited for five minutes, but I was still uncertain as to if the walkers had past or not.
I lifted my head up slightly, only to see a shadow flick across the back seat. I went rigid, trying not to breath or make any sound.
The shadow passed in seconds, and I let out my breath. I waited a little longer before I pulled myself on the chair and looked about. I couldn't see anything, so decided to take the chance. I opened the door and quietly climbed out. I grabbed the canister, the hose and my machete and stood straight.
I saw them. There were only two, but they seemed preoccupied by something on the ground by the edge of the road. I stared at them for a second, and decided that I could probably sneak past without being detected.
I took a deep breath and walked quickly. When I thought I was far enough away, I sprinted as hard as I could. I only had to sprint for five minutes until I saw the truck and sighed, relieved.
I opened the fuel cap and poured in the petrol. I threw the stuff in the back seat before getting in next to Alex.
"All okay?"
"Two walkers. I ran past them, but there's more cars down there we could drain. You okay to risk it?" I asked, and he nodded as he started the engine.
When we got to the cars a few minutes later, the walkers were gone, and a small animal carcus lay where the walkers had been, completely stripped to the bone. I shivered.
I hopped out and drained the rest of the cars, only taking a few minutes. When I got back in the truck and Alex started the engine, the gas meter read that we were on a full tank.
"Woohoo!" He yelped as he put the car into gear and we breezed down the highway, the sun shining high in the sky.
So, hey!
What did you all think? I hope you enjoyed it - it was quite fun to write, and I hope none of you were offended by anything here.
On the subject of offence, I was highlighted to the word 'Sambo' which I have included in this story. I knew it was a fighting style, but I had no idea about any racial connotations. So if I have offended anyone, I'm sorry. That truly was not my intent.
Thank you! :)
- Loré.